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The House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan, on Friday subpoenaed BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors for documents and communications related to the panel’s probe into environmental, social and governance, or ESG, goals and antitrust laws.
The panel said it requested documents from both companies on July 6, 2023, and that each had produced some documents, but that overall responses have been “inadequate.”
The Friday subpoenas follow ones issued Monday to Vanguard Group and Arjuna Capital for documents related to the panel’s investigation into possible illegal collusion to deprive fossil-fuel companies of funding.
Read: House panel subpoenas Vanguard, says it ‘colluded’ with rivals to decarbonize U.S. economy
Jordan, an Ohio Republican, launched an investigation this year into Vanguard, BlackRock
BLK,
State Street
STT,
and other asset managers over concerns that their participation in the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative violated U.S. competition law.
NZAM is an international group of asset managers committed to the goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C (equivalent to 2.7 degrees F).
A BlackRock spokesperson said in a statement on Friday: “We have worked cooperatively with the House Judiciary Committee to address their questions about the asset management industry, as we do with any government body.
“Having already produced more than 7,700 documents and 91,000 pages, a subpoena was not necessary but we understand this is the committee’s practice, and we will continue to cooperate.”
State Street said in a comment that “we have cooperated fully with the committee and will continue to do so going forward. We remain confident that we have not violated any anti-trust laws.”
